A new chapter in global corruption

Campaign finance laws are the subject of a new chapter in “Global Corruption: Law, Theory and Practice,” which is available on the CBA website.

The book is a comprehensive account of the historical, social, economic and political dimensions of corruption and compares the anti-corruption regimes in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada.

The latest chapter, written by Madeline Reid as a directed research and writing paper under the supervision of Professor Gerry Ferguson, looks at how election campaigns are financed, how and why campaign financing is regulated, the rules surrounding third-party campaigners, and the challenges inherent in trying to regulate financing.

Even when it is impossible to determine whether policies and decisions result from a politician’s own principles or from the need to maintain future financial support by rewarding past support, the relationship between politicians and their financial backers can be toxic for public confidence. Further, aside from the risk of corruption of elected officials, many argue that unregulated campaign finance may corrupt the electoral process itself by allowing the wealthy to set the electoral debate agenda and exert disproportionate influence over the outcome of elections. This influence arguably undermines the foundational principle of “one person, one vote.”

Global Corruption, the first course book of its kind on anti-corruption, was authored by professor Gerry Ferguson, Distinguished Professor at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law. The CBA Anti-Corruption Team sponsored, and also reviewed and provided input into the first edition of the book.

The book is available in whole or by chapter in both pdf and word formats and can be found on the ACT website.